Rotary drier.



PATBNTED SEPT. 1, 1903.

D. GRUPE.

ROTARY DRIER.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 20, 1903.

2 SHEBTSSHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

JIM

l 9 -I II IO m M O o O O No. 738,106. PATENTED SEPT. 1, 1903.

D. GRUPE.

ROTARY DRIER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20, 1903.

. sums-sum 2.

Patented September 1, 1963.

PATENT OFFICE.

DURBIN GRUPE, OF DAVENPORT, IOYVA.

ROTARY DRIER.

SPEGIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 738,106, dated September 1,1903.

Application filed May 20, 1903. Serial No. 158,034. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, DURBIN GRUPE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Davenport, in the county of Scott and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Driers, of which the followingis a clear, full, and exact specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to that class of rotary driers employed in breweries and glucose factories and other places to dry raw or spent materials used or produced in such institutions and consisting principally of long cylinders traversed longitudinally by steamfiues, into which cylinders the material to be dried is fed at one end and discharged at the opposite end. This is the class of driers to which Letters Patent of the United States No. 659,299, issued to me October 9, 1900, refer. Difficulty has been experienced in maintaining the operative condition of such driers, because the expansion and contraction of the fines has a tendency to cause the connections at their ends to work loose, there being too great a weight of the movable chamber and fines to allow the movable chamber to move readily, and because the unequal expansion of the different fines tends to make the movable chamber bind; also, to cause the fines to buckle or to crack. Difficulty has also been experienced from the location of the trap without the cylinder, it interfering with nesting the cylinders, occupying needed space, and weakening the cylinders.

The object of my present invention is to obviate these difficulties by providing for the free and nnhampered movement of the movable ends of the fines upon contraction or expansion, either singly or in groups, and by an improved drain-trap.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a side view of my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section thereof. Fig. 3 is an end view of the entrance end, showing a part of the steam-chambers a, some of the caps M being omitted. Fig. 4 is a detail showing the location of the watertrap within the rear steam-chamber X. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the drain-trap. Fig. 5 is an end detail of the steam-chambers L, showing the caps M, nutsN, and air-vent Q, the dotted lines showing the partitions of the steamchambers. Fig. 6 is a side detail of the steamchambers L in section on the dotted line 2 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a side elevation showing the inclination of the cylindrical shell.

In the drawings similar letters refer to similar parts in the various views.

Fig. 1 represents the cylindrical shell A of a rotary drier, which is revolved by means of suitable gearing B, engaging an annular gear B, secured to the cylindrical shell A, preferably by one of the bearing-rings C. There are two or more of th ese bearing-rings located at suitable distances apart. These rings travel upon nests of idle rollers F. Placed longitudinally in the cylindrical shell, arranged in such a manner as to leave a central area unoccupied by the same, are a number of fines E. One end of each flue is secured in any suitable manner in one head 1) of the chamber X, iminovably secured in place at one end of the cylindrical shell, preferably the discharge end. This chamber X is composed of two corresponding circular plates or heads b and l), secured to the cylindrical shell at a suitable distance apart, a portion of the cylindrical shell A forming the circumferential walls of the chamber. The opposite ends of the flues are suitably secured, either singly, in pairs, or in groups of three or more,in chambers L, consisting of an inner head, an outer head, and connecting Walls. These chambers may be cast in one piece or built up. When the inner connecting walls are used, as shown in Fig. 6, they are provided with openings 0 to allow the free passage of steam to and from all parts of the chamber. The outer head is provided with as many openings as there are fines entering the chamber. These openings are made slightly larger than the fines to permit theintroduction of tools and are provided with caps M, secured in place by dogs R and bolts S, each dog B being provided with a slot to receive the head of the bolt and prevent its turning. The caps M are provided with gas-- kets T to make them steam-tight. When necessary, provision is made against an accumulation of air in these chambers by suitably attaching thereto automatic air-vents of any standard pattern, no claim being made herein for any particular form of air-vent, or the caps M may be fitted with automatic airvents Q.

Near the movable end of the fines a supporting-platef is fitted within the cylindrical shell, having holes slightly larger than the fines through which the tines pass, the holes being enough larger than the fines to allow the free longitudinal movement of the fines therein. The central portion of the platef is cut away to permit the introduction of the feed within the drier.

My drain-trap consists ofan open segmental chamber K, formed upon the inner side of the cylindrical shell between the two heads of the chamber X. The forward end of this chamber K is open. The rear end is fitted with a radial pipe J, which is bent at right angles at the center of the cylindrical shell and passes out within and through the entrypipe H. This drain-pipe is suitably packed where it leaves the steam-entry pipe H, so as to allow its free revolution. A suitablypacked steam-entry pipe H enters the center of the outer head I) of the steam-chamber X in such manner that the steam-supply is not interfered with by the revolutionof the cylindrical shell.

The cylindrical shell is provided with holes V through the shell near the steam-chamber X, which allow the dried materials to pass out into any suitable receptacle. Whenever the length of the fines requires, intermediate supporting-plates G may be disposed in any manner which does not interfere with the progress of the material through the drier.

In operation steam is introduced through the pipe H into the chamber X and passes thence into the fines E and the chambers L. WVhen the chambers L are fitted to receive only a single fine, or otherwise when desired, air is allowed to escape through the automatic air-vents Q, which may be of any ap proved pattern. WVhen the fines are thus heated to the desired temperature, the material to be dried is fed into the central opening of the supporting-plate f by a suitable conveyer. The entrance end of the drier is mounted higher than the opposite end, so that when the cylindrical shell revolves the feed or material is advanced by gravity toward the discharge end and passes out through the discharge-holes. This advance of the material may be facilitated by longitudinally-disposed ribs secured to the inner side of the shell and extending substantially the length of the fines.

The water from condensation collects by gravity in the chamber X and with each revolution of the cylinder is caught in the open chamber K and passes thence into the drainpipe and out through a suitable trap.

WVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A rotary drier comprising a cylindrical shell having a discharge-opening, inner supporting-plate, and outer plate providing a steam-chamber at one end of the shell, a steam-supply pipe connected with the steamchambcr, an outer supporting-plate having a central opening and located at the other end of the shell, steam-fines having theirinner ends fixed in the inner supporting-plate and extending into the steam-chamber and their outer ends movably mounted in the outer supporting-plate and extending beyond the same, and smallsteam-chambers havinginner openings in which the outer ends of the fines are fixed, and outer openings opposite to the inner openings, and removable caps secured to the outer openings of the small steamchambers.

2. A rotary drier comprising a cylindrical shell having a discharge-opening, inner supporting-plate, and outer plate providing a steam cham'ber at one end of the shell, a steam-supply pipe connected with the steamchamber, an outer supporting-plate having a central opening and located at the other end of the shell, steam-fines having their inner ends fixed in the inner supporting-plate and extending into the steam-chamber, and their outer ends movably mounted in the outer supporting-plate and extending beyond the same, and small steam-chambers connecting the fines in pairs and having inner openings in which the outer ends of the fines are fixed, and outer openings opposite to the inner openings, and removable caps secured to the outer openings of the small steam-chambers.

3. A rotary drier comprising a cylindrical,

shell having a discharge-opening, inner supporting-plate, and outer plate providing a steam-chamber at one end of the shell, a steam-supply pipe connected with the steamchamber, an outer supporting-plate having a central opening and located at the other end of the shell, steam-fines having their inner ends fixed in the inner supporting-plate and extending into the steam-chamber, and their outer ends movably mounted in the outer supporting-plate and extending beyond the same, and small steam-chambers connecting the fines in groups of three and formed with walls provided with connecting openings and having inner openings in which the outer ends of the fines are fixed, and outer openings opposite to the inner openings, and removable caps secured to the outer openings of the small steam-chambers.

at. A rotary drier comprisingv a cylindrical shell having a discharge-opening, inner supporting-plate, and outer plate providing a. steam-chamber at one end of the shell, a steam-supply pipe connected with the steamchamber, an outer supporting-plate having a central opening and located at the other end of the shell, steam-fines having their inner ends fixed in the inner supporting-plate and extending into the steam-chamber, and their outer ends movably mounted in the outer supporting-plate and extending beyond the same, and small steam-chambers havinginner openings in which the outer ends of the fines enter ends movably mounted in the outer supporting-plate and extending beyond the same, and small steam-chambershavinginner openings in which the outer ends of the flues are fixed, and a drain-trap consisting of a segmental chamber secured to the shell within the steam-chamber having one end open and the other end closed and a pipe extending from the closed end of the chamber to the center of the steam-chamber and axially through the steam-pipe.

DURBIN GRUPE. Witnesses:

H. L. ORENDORFF, WM. F. TURNER. 

